Share this article

The series explains how Apollonius rose to prominence by performing miracles and amassing followers - in a similar way to Jesus.

'He became a disciple of Pythagoras renouncing flesh, wine and women. He wore no shoes and let his hair and beard grow long,' the documentary reveals.

It continues: 'He soon became a reformer and fixed his abode in the Temple of Aesculapius'.

The 2016 series revealed: 'There is, in fact, a man who can be found in text outside of the Bible after the church failed to eradicate him from history'

Amazon Prime's 'Bible Conspiracies' has probably made the wildest claim about the Bible: a Greek man named Apollonius may have been the true face behind the New Testament (depicted in a drawing of a medallion coin)

Apollonius rose to prominence by amassing religious followers as he preached and performed miracles.

'Eventually Apollonius became a wise sage himself and his own notoriety grew.

The 2016 documentary claims that Apollonius may have been the son of God: he was born around the same time as Jesus Christ, and preached the same things

'Aurelian the Roman Emperor vowed to erect temples and statues to his honour. Was there ever anything among men more holy?

'He reportedly restored life to the dead and spoke of things beyond the human reach. And, unlike Jesus, there is evidence to prove that Apollonius actually existed.'

The explosive claims go against more traditional views of Apollonius that believe him to have been no more than a philosopher.

Reactions to the documentary have not been kind.

'Does not live up to its name - doesn't reveal any Bible 'conspiracies' only tries to cast doubt on the Bible with no historical evidence or interviews with trustworthy experts, just pure conjecture.

'Too bad because there is a lot of fascinating things revealed by the Bible. I skimmed ahead and lost interest and felt mislead and couldn't finish but it all look pretty lame,' wrote one viewer.

'The writers of this film not only have NO actual Biblical knowledge, they quote many myths that have been not only been disproved, but are laughed at in theological circles. In this video, there are no experts, no theologians, only many rhetorical lies that are often spewed by evolutionist and atheist,' said another.

It was a view shared by another viewer: 'Heavily Biased Opinion Piece...Not an objective analysis at all. A hodge-podge of Truths, Half-Truths, Fallacies and Unfounded Conjecture.

'Do not waste your time here, there are far better research documentaries on this particular subject out there.'